Friday, April 22, 2011

The new 2012 Wilton Yearbook has been revealed by Wilton. Check out the cute video above.

Start with the special section, Punch. Cut. Decorate!, and see how they’ve made it easier than ever to create that perfect cake or treat. In this section, Wilton brings the fun and versatility of paper crafting to cake decorating with new Sugar Sheets! Edible Decorating Paper. You’ll see how easy it is to use the many dazzling colors and patterns of Sugar Sheets!, along with the complete line of shaped punches and inserts to make amazing borders and designs. From dimensional bows and blossoms to quilling loops and stand-up butterflies, this special section will help anyone create something great.

Also in the 2012 Yearbook, you’ll find more than 230 designs for every occasion. Discover great theme birthday cakes, colourful holiday treats and dramatic tiered wedding creations to suit any taste. As always, the Yearbook is the ideal resource for the decorator, with step-by-step instructions, decorating techniques, a complete product section and a website link to more great designs.

How long have you been decorating? I have been interested in cake decorating ever since I was an “ankle biter”. My aunty is a cake decorator and I used to love looking through her Women’s Weekly cake books and picking the cakes I wanted for my birthday, so I have always been interested. Then about a year ago I thought I would seriously try and learn the art. I am self-taught so over that time I have been learning as I go, trying new things and practicing different techniques and slowly building up my “cake kit” as I go.

What is you favourite thing to bake & decorate – why? I love working with fondant because I love the polished, smooth look it gives, whereas trying to get buttercream smooth tends to stress me out! I really enjoy making cupcakes as I find them less stressful.

What got you started in baking/decorating? My passion for cake decorating started when I made a Dora the Explorer birthday cake for my little girl’s third birthday. She absolutely loved it!

What are your top 5 decorating tools you cannot live without? My rolling pin, tylose powder, my turntable that my lovely sister-in-law bought for me, my little shaping tools and my pizza cutter wheel – I don’t know what I would do without it!

What do you do when you’re not decorating? Eek, well with two littlies under four, working my “real job” for 34 hours a week, my duties as the treasurer and fundraising for our local toy library, I don’t get a lot of time for relaxing. But when I do I love to put my feet up, watch a DVD and have a glass of sauvignon blanc – ah, bliss!

What are some of your favourite creations you’ve created and why? My favourite cake to date would be this Dorothy the Dinosaur cake I made for a friend’s wee girl’s second birthday party. She wanted a girly, Dorothy themed cake and I was pleased she wasn’t after an exact copy of anything so I had some creative license. I was thrilled with the end result and how the Dorothy figure turned out – I was terrified the kids would be like “that’s not Dorothy”!

What is you favourite Cake, cookie, or cupcake flavour? I love Mississippi Mud Cake – its always so yummy and moist, it keeps really well and actually seems to get better with age, yum!

If you could have someone make a cake for you, what would it be like? That is a tough question, I have never really thought about it. I get to make my own 30th cake in June so it will give me something to think about LOL! I would love anything that somebody made for me because everything always tastes better when you don’t have to make it yourself LOL!

Rachel did you know, you have more posts than any other member in the Kiwicakes forum (including me). Tell me a little bit about your experiences of the forum.

Oh gosh, no I didn’t, where on earth do I find the time! Don’t tell my husband because he will expect me to start doing more housework! I was really excited when the forum started because it’s so great to have somewhere that is relevant to us kiwis. You can learn a lot from overseas forums but it’s great to have somewhere where we can talk about things that relate to us, such as New Zealand dollars, New Zealand ingredients etc. I probably have so many posts cos I joined up the first day you started it (LOL!) and also because I love to share everything, whether it’s my latest cakes or whether I am trying to help others out or just give them support. I think it’s awesome to be able to help each other out and share knowledge.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

SATIN ICE is a ready to roll fondant icing. It is available in White, Ivory, and Pre-coloured. All varieties have a lovely vanilla taste. There is also a dark chocolate flavour/colour. In New Zealand we also know this icing to be called under different brands or names

- Plastic Icing

- RTR Icing

- Pettinice

SATIN ICE also makes a Gum Paste (known as modelling paste or sugar flower paste in NZ) which sets hard.

The finest cake shops, bakeries and patisseries use Satin Ice products to complete their works of edible art...from birthday, wedding and special event and novelty cakes to cupcakes and cookies or as stand-alone sugar figurine displays.

Some of the world's renowned cake designers and sugar artists call Satin Ice their brand of choice for rolled fondant and gum paste. Satin products can be seen on a multitude of cable and satellite TV food shows such as "Ace of Cakes" (Food Network), "Cake Boss" (TLC), "Food Network Challenge", "Ultimate Cake Challenge" (TLC) and more. The finest cake shops, bakeries and patisseries use Satin Ice products to complete their works of edible art . . . from birthday, wedding and special event and novelty cakes to cupcakes and cookies or as stand-alone sugar figurine displays.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Today the Kiwicakes 5th birthday cake arrived. And I love it! Stephanie had sent me some photos before she sent the cake.

Here's is all the hard work that went in to it.

Here is the lovely Stephanie.

It was delivered by our friendly fastway courier this morning, and it arrived in fantastic condition, thanks to the wonderful boxing & wrapping by Stephanie. (non slip mat in the box, on the base of the boxes bottom and clear wrapped in cellophane, so the couriers could see the wonderful masterpiece they were transporting.

Now I won't say it was a shame to cut it, I hear that far too much for my liking, cakes are made to be cut. Stephanie has spoiled us rotten with 5 flavours, at time of writing, I've only cut the giant cupcake portion of the cake (which Stephanie has very cleverly airbrushed the base with black, to give the illusion of being a cupcake paper.). What a feast for the eyes. Check out the Chocolate and vanilla striping.

Every which way you turned the cake, was a delight, with little hidden treasures at every angle.

I think the cake looks just like Stephanies sketch, she did a great job.

To view all of the entries in the Kiwicakes 5th birthday competition click here.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

For many of you, I know the highlight of this blog is the new products. This week, we've broken all previous records, for the amount of new stock received in a day & a week. Poor Grandma Kiwicakes dealt with 14 crates yesterday from one courier, across multiple overseas suppliers. I'm not sure who was more overwhelmed Grandma Kiwicakes or the driver, then other couriers continued to arrive throughout the day. Poor Grandma Kiwicakes didn't get out from under the pile of cross checking invoices for most of the day.

I'm working to load it to Kiwicakes website as quick as I can, some of the highlights have been coloured candy melts, in every colour of the rainbow. 1kg pots of hot pink icing from the UK. As well as the new designs from Clikstix - handbags, shoes, butterflies & confetti. And there's many more exciting things to come.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Just arrived at Kiwicakes, a lovely new book from Fiona Cairns. Fiona is the cake maker appointed to make the royal wedding cake for Prince William and Kate Middleton, when they marry later this month.

Baking and cake decorating have never been more popular. And whereas there are many books showing how to decorate cakes to a high finished standard, there are very few which focus on delicious cake recipes as well as simple but pretty decoration. If you thought cake decorating was costly and difficult, this is the book that will change your mind forever. Fiona Cairns is bursting with new ideas for making delicious, visually stunning cakes and biscuits easy - even for the least experienced cook - and for far less money than you thought. From an eye-popping gold leaf-encased torte for a special celebration, to wickedly sophisticated chocolate-chilli cupcakes, Fiona shows every aspiring hostess how to achieve glamorous, fun entertaining from her own kitchen, using easy techniques and tricks that make cake decorating achievable for all. Fiona's cake recipes have the sensual deliciousness often lacking in the sterile creations of other cake decorators. Be transported to a summer garden by the whole crystallised roses on top of a cake filled with the heady flavours of orange blossom and pistachio, or celebrate springtime with a white chocolate cardamom truffle cake, adorned with sugar eggs and fresh spring leaves. Children and the young at heart alike will adore the warmth of Fiona's cakes baked inside ice-cream cones, topped with pastel buttercream that won't melt in the sun, while anyone, regardless of diets, can enjoy her delicious vegan fruit cake recipe. Here, finally, is the cake book where every recipe is a keeper and each stunning creation made easy to achieve.

About the Author

Fiona Cairns' company produces 750,000 cakes a year for clients including the Waitrose supermarket chain, the Conran Shop, Liberty, the Ritz hotel, Harrods, Selfridges, and Fortnum and Mason. She has made cakes for celebrities including Bono and Sinead O'Connor, and supplies Sir Paul McCartney with a specially commissioned Christmas cake every year. She trained as a pastry chef at the Michelin-starred Hambleton Hall and then baked cakes for local businesses, as well as friends and family. Her greatest innovation was the miniature cake, which has since been widely copied. Her cakes have been featured in magazines including Sainsbury's Magazine, Waitrose Food Illustrated and Homes and Gardens. This is her first book. Author Location: Leicestershire

Sunday, April 3, 2011

The winner of the 5th birthday cake competition is the above sketch by Stephanie Curnow. I love the 5 interlocking cakes, 1 for each year. I adore the side view sketh, that shows just how each cake is a work of art on it's own. I've been in touch with Stephanie and she will be baking this cake very soon!

Here's a sneak peak at the other entries. All entrants will receive their Kiwicakes voucher within the next week. We had one or two entries that were written without pics, these are not included here.